2019 (2) TMI 338 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Maintainability of application under Section 84 of the TNVAT Act - application before wrong forum - only grievance of the petitioner before this Court is that even though the petitioner has filed appeal before the wrong officer, the same should have been forwarded to the Appellate Authority for deciding the same on merits - Validity of assessment order - Held that - It is seen that the petitioner has wrongly chosen to file an appeal as against the order passed by the third respondent already under Section 84 of TNVAT Act, 2006 dated 02.07.2018 instead of filing revision before the concerned Revisional Authority - this writ petition is disposed of, by granting liberty to the petitioner to file a revision against the order dated 02.07.2018 as well as the present order dated 15.10.2018 before the concerned Revisional Authority within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

Summary

Issues:
1. Appeal filed before the wrong officer
2. Failure to forward appeal papers to the Appellate Authority
3. Correct forum for filing appeal

Analysis:
1. The petitioner challenged an order of assessment dated 19.08.2018 by the third respondent, resulting in tax and penalty imposition. The petitioner filed a petition under Section 84 of the TNVAT Act, 2006 on 24.04.2018, which was rejected on 02.07.2018. Subsequently, an appeal was filed under Section 51 of the TNVAT Act on 15.09.2018, but it was presented before the wrong authority, the Assistant Commissioner. The Assistant Commissioner forwarded the papers to the third respondent, who treated it as a new application under Section 84, leading to the petitioner's grievance that the appeal should have been forwarded to the Appellate Authority for a decision on merits.

2. The Court acknowledged the petitioner's error in filing the appeal before the wrong forum but found merit in the argument that the Assistant Commissioner should have either returned the papers for filing before the appropriate authority or forwarded them to the correct appellate authority. The failure to do so resulted in the third respondent treating it as a fresh application for rectification. Consequently, the Court granted the petitioner the liberty to present the appeal before the concerned appellate authority within two weeks, emphasizing the importance of filing before the correct forum for a fair assessment.

3. The respondent argued that the petitioner should have filed a revision under Section 54 of the TNVAT Act, 2006 instead of an appeal under Section 51. The Court noted the petitioner's mistake in choosing to file an appeal against the order dated 02.07.2018 under Section 84 of the TNVAT Act, 2006, rather than opting for a revision before the Revisional Authority. As a result, the Court granted the petitioner the opportunity to file a revision against both orders within two weeks, directing the Revisional Authority to consider the revision without limitations and without expressing any view on the merits of the contentions raised by either party.

In conclusion, the judgment highlighted the importance of filing appeals before the correct forum and emphasized the need for proper forwarding of appeal papers to the appropriate appellate authority for a fair and just decision on the merits of the case.